


Tonight is when I decided not to sing those songs

by GilgaNyan (NarryEm)



Series: MerMay 2020 | GilgaNyan [1]
Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Mythology, M/M, MerMay, Modern Setting Retelling of Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Mythology References, Original Mythology, mermaid, merman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24030466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NarryEm/pseuds/GilgaNyan
Summary: Merfolk—or as the humans liked to call them, mermaids—have existed for as long as humans have.   Some may even argue that merfolk populated the Earth before humans began to appear aboveground.Whatever glory the merfolk had was long gone, however.  In an age where technology and science reigned supreme, the merfolk have been driven to secrecy in the depths of the ocean.And it is in the dark undersea waters where the story of one special merman unfolds.
Relationships: Arjuna Alter | Berserker/Karna | Lancer of Red, Arjuna | Archer/Karna | Lancer of Red
Series: MerMay 2020 | GilgaNyan [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733524
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Tonight is when I decided not to sing those songs

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY [MYOUN](www.pipaapo.tumblr.com) !!!!
> 
> title from "Re:far" by Aimer.
> 
> I apologise in advance for the exposition in the beginning. It was necessary since I created my own kind of merfolk based on multiple mythologies plus my own imagination (if I still got any)

Merfolk—or as the humans liked to call them, mermaids—have existed for as long as humans have. Some may even argue that merfolk populated the Earth before humans began to appear aboveground. 

For the first part of human history, humans and merpeople got along well. Their habitats hardly overlapped. Hunters from certain merfolk tribes made it their hobby to aid the humans in their sea voyages. They watched with intrigue shining in their eyes as the humans’ crude rafts grew into more and more elaborate boats and then ships. Some of the weaponry inventions were inspired by the merfolk. The merfolk were glad to see humanity grow as both species and as civilisations. Whilst they did not actively aid in the development of human technology, they also did not actively try to stop the humans from learning a trick or two. After all, there were instances when it was the merfolk who took inspiration from human technology.

Of course, it went without saying that not all merfolk were on friendly terms with humans. Nor were all humans trusting of their neighbours in the ocean.

The few merpeople who raised concern against humans were banished from their tribe as soon as they voiced their opinions. It did not take long for the hostile group of exiles to form their own nomadic tribe. This particular tribe was known for their savagery and unwillingness to live in peace and harmony with the humans. Their primary goal was to ‘cull’ the population of humans until it was the merfolk who outnumbered humans.

Several millennia into human history, something shifted in the dynamic between the humans and the seafolk. The humans love for religions and different deities resulted in war against one another. No merfolk took part in these wars, of course. Even the most violent of the merkind understood that they were bystanders and observers of human history; they were never meant to meddle the natural course of events that occurred in human history. After all, they had more than enough problems to solve in their own kind.

It was around the time one human civilisation after another began to sever its bond to the merfolk that a new and dangerous rumour began to circulate the oceans.

The fact of the matter was that merfolk were designed to be superior to humans. Despite being restricted to large bodies of water, even a mermaid who was not fully grown could hold her ground fighting a fully grown human male. Many merfolk were born with gifts, be it physical or intangible like arts.

But this rumour whispered of something beyond even that.

The creature in question was said to be exquisite. Their beauty outshone the sun during the day and outdid the serene grace of the night. They had the outward appearance of the seaborne, but upon closer inspection, they were said to have features of other beings mixed in as well

The most bizarre part was the power in the creature’s voice.

It was this creature from which the fables of siren originated. Fearful humans that had supposedly encountered the creature had been horridly captivated and enraptured by the creature’s voice that the humans spun tales of a monster that lured in sailors to devour. Most merfolk dismissed the devouring part as pure fabrication. 

The part about the power in its voice, however, was the part that survived generations of rumours.

And to this day, in the age of modern technology, in hushed murmurs, humans and merfolk passed down the story of the ‘siren’.

  
  
  


〰〰~〰〰

  
  
  


Karna blinked slowly as his head broke the surface of the water. The northward winds were picking up, causing the waves to grow in size. He was right in predicting that hardly any human would be lounging on the beach in this weather. The sun was still shining down but a quick sniff of the air told Karna and a storm was to touchdown in the area soon.

Slowly, he encroached the shorelines. He was still alert for any signs of human activity. The last thing he needed was his discovery ending up as the front-page news all over the human worlds. Or worse, his pictures circulating these ‘social media’ things. The devices and software that humans have conjured up in the last half a century fascinated Karna as much as they frightened him.

He shook his head clear of the distractions and kept up the swift swim up to the shore. The moment that his tail was completely outside the cool caress of the seawater, the iridescent black scales melted into pale skin. Not all of the scales disappeared. Traces of the shimmering scales remained, covering most of Karna’s legs up to his thighs and his elbows, lending his skin a burnt look. A familiar ripped down his shoulders and he felt the feathers tear through the tender skin between his shoulder blades. The feathers grew into a pair of enormous wings the colour of blood and shadows. He had always thought that it was inconvenient as well as inefficient that he could not control the growth of their size in the midst of the transformation. He could only will the wings to shrink once the transformation was complete.

Karna spared another cursory scan of the beach before he stumbled towards a small cave that passed as a pile of rocks to most humans. He donned the clothes with haste. The rainstorm was due anytime now and he would stand out like a sore thumb if he kept wandering the streets in heavy downpour.

He had just stepped off the rocky reach when the first raindrops began to pitter-patter down from the skies. The humans who were strolling outside were now jogging into cars or through doors to the nearby shops. One couldn’t blame them for their lack of preparation for this was not a forecasted shower.

For the sake of upkeeping his human façade, he entered a store that was the closest to him.

“Welcome to Café Indra. Would you like to take a seat first or place an order first?”

Karna looked up and found himself staring into a pair of eyes with the colour of deep, lovely shade of brown. Those brown eyes were framed by long, thick lashes. Not to mention, the face that these belonged to were stunning.

And familiar.

It took a tonne of self-control on Karna’s part to not blurt out the name of his long-time yearning. He, instead, smiled stiffly and said, “I’d appreciate it if I could have a minute to settle first.” He gestured vaguely towards the windows.

“Of course!” the clerk said with a smile. “Take all the time you need.”

Karna picked the table closest to the window (and consequently the furthest from the counter) and took a seat. He took of the jacket and continued his survey of the man.

The man in question had rich skin colour that was not common in this part of the world. (At least, it had not been common the last time Karna had made this beach his home, which had been almost a century ago.) The rich skin tone was complemented by the crisp white and blue of his uniform shirt. His dark hair fell in short waves around his face and was styled in a neat fashion. Given the outward appearance of around twenty, this man was most likely a college student.

Karna had no real need for human sustenance, so he settled for the first things on the menu to eat. He found the aroma of the tea pleasing and the warm chef’s special soup and wrap even more so.

“I have never seen you around town before,” the clerk said. The café clerk said. The place was not short on patrons, but the quiet and relaxing atmosphere coupled by dixieland playing softly in the background lent itself for casual conversations. He hardly had to raise his voice for it to reach across the floor. “My name is Arjuna, by the way.”

“Like the demigod from Indian mythology,” Karna acknowledged. “My parents are Indian, too, so I got the name Karna. And I’m a traveller, hence why you have not seen me before.” That was half-truth, half-lie but after living for centuries, he has learnt to accept that choosing lies over death was nothing to be shameful of.

Arjuna’s eyes twinkled with joy. “That has to mean that fate brought us together, does it not?”

“I suppose it does. The wrap is delicious, by the way.”

“Thank you.” Arjuna grinned. “Ash will love to hear that.”

Arjuna walked out from behind the counter and made his rounds from customer to customer. From what Karna could hear, most of the people in the café were regulars. The younger crowd were from the same university as Arjuna whilst the older ones seemed to have been drawn by Arjuna’s charm. Humans were blissfully simple like that. (It was that simplicity that also led to the bloody events in human history, but Karna had no right to pass judgment in their mishaps.)

He ordered another beverage when he emptied his first cuppa. He had wanted to explore Brentwood Bay and its surrounding scenery. He had been planning to visit the Butchart Garden to see how much it had changed over the twentieth century but that plan had not taken the rainy weather into account. It was harder to sense the weather when he was undersea, and he preferred to stay in the water where he was the least likely to be discovered. Perhaps he was more excited for this day trip than he anticipated for him to have blundered like this.

The best course of action would be to cut this trek short and try for another day. However . . .

Arjuna. The young man—he had to be one—had captured his interest since the moment Karna’s eyes landed on him. His resemblance to the other Arjuna that Karna knew nigh a millennia ago was astounding. His thoughts kept circling back to the question of Arjuna’s being a human in this lifetime. That was assuming that Arjuna, a child of the ocean, had been somehow reincarnated as a human into this modern time.

Karna did not know that the merfolk could even suffer from headaches. Perchance this was a phenomenon unique to him due to his ‘condition’. It was unfortunate that he could not discuss ailments with others of his kind. He was not even sure if there were surviving sirens apart from himself.

Karna sighed. He should not use the heavy veil of rain as an excuse. He gathered his belongings and bid Arjuna goodbye. He hailed a cab and headed towards a house he had secured a week ago. 

He was grateful for the fact that modern technology facilitated acts like buying properties. All he had to do was make a few long calls and transfer over the money whereas in the olden days, he had to try and buy houses when he hardly looked like the type of person who could afford a house by himself. Transporting clothes with him as he travelled via the ocean had been a nightmare. Sure, ships existed before airplanes emerged as a mainstream mode of transportation. However, having to wait weeks, if not months, for his wardrobe to follow him hindered his ability to scout out his new hometown. And he never had been the type to keep an extensive wardrobe. It was rather hard for the regular merfolk to wear clothes as humans defined it, after all.

His house was located right off the Cordova Bay Road, less than a block away from Doris Page Park. The house had been furnished by the local moving company he had hired for the ‘move’ with a specific order to maintain a minimalistic design. He did not need all this space but it was more difficult to keep looking for a smaller house in the neighbourhood he wanted so he settled for this house. 

He took off his jacket and hoodie the moment he closed the doors behind him. His wings were feeling stiff from being folded and tucked up for hours. He used to think that he might get used to that kind of feeling. After all these centuries, he no longer counted on that.

Karna all but collapsed onto the bed, set up in the master bedroom of the house. Apart from the bed, there was no other piece of furniture in the room. He knew that if he looked into the wardrobe, several outfits appropriate for the climate in this part of the world would be hanging in meticulous fashion. He should buy a new mobile phone as he had forgotten to ship that over. That would give him a good excuse to ferry or swim to Vancouver tomorrow. The last time he was on the island, he had not left it.

Yes. That was the plan for tomorrow. For now, he was going to sleep. The transformation drained him more than he had thought it would. Maybe the small meal he had at Café Indra could help with the recovery.

The last thoughts that floated around in his head before sleep took him was of Arjuna and his brown, beautifully brown eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> In the midst of writin this, I wondered to myself if I should explain how Karna has accumulated his wealth. You gotta assume that when someone lives for basically forever, they are bound to save up a good deal even if they weren’t good with the whole financing bits.


End file.
